Adopting a deaf senior rescue French Bulldog named Milo

This past weekend my wife and I adopted a French Bulldog from a rescue. Milo is an eight year old, deaf, loving guy. We knew before adopting him that it would take a lot of time and effort to bring Milo into our home as a member of our family for the rest of his life.

Like any expecting parents we did lots of research; books, videos, talking to others, and more. All of our time gave us a good amount of useful advice that has proven quite useful thus far, but as with any new member of the family there is always the unexpected. The first time leaving Milo home alone in his crate, to get groceries, we returned to hear him howling from outside the apartment! Thankfully this morning when left alone I returned from to find him peacefully sleeping on the couch (no more leaving him in the crate I suppose). The cats are still unsure, but thankfully are adjusting well. Milo had lived with cats in his foster home, yet still found it necessary to chase Jim through the apartment in the excitement of his new surroundings. Both are now slowly getting closer to each other and we hope that soon they will be friends. Jean is the easy cat; she is already okay with a dog as long as he just ignores her. He also learned at his foster home to sleep in the bed; a behavior we were hoping to avoid. The first night home Milo decided to beg forever until being let onto the bed with his parents.

Milo is proof why older dogs still deserve a loving home. Though he has his minor issues (and who does not; animal or human), he is a chunky little lover. One of his biggest issues is that he always wants to be on your lap, and if that is the most challenging problem then we can’t complain much. We are coming to understand that due to his deafness he always wants to have you in his sight. He will relentlessly follow you through the apartment all day long. When you shower he will stand in the bathroom and stare at the shower curtain waiting for you to be done. Oddly he also has no interest in toys. Our best guess is that this comes from the fact that he was a breeding dog before we were fortunate enough to adopt him. We hope to work on this, but because of his age he may not adapt to playing.

He is a wonderful dog; just as many others who are looking for forever homes. We are very thankful that he has become a part of our family and look forward to bonding with him and living our lives. Though he will take a lot of time and work it is wonderful to have such a wonderful companion in our home to love; even if he snores.